September Eleventh
Crossposted at Disabled Americans for Democracy
On this fourth anniversary of September Eleventh, we remember those who were lost. But, on this day, we have even more to mourn than our fallen innocents, a heavier burden to bear than that imposed on us that bright, clear autumn morning by al Caeda.
Four years on, we also must endure an unjust, illegal, and immoral war, waged in our name against a country that posed no threat to us, in which tens of thousands of Iraqis (mostly civilians) have died, while the number of our dead approaches two thousand and the wounded overwhelm the military and VA medical systems. We must endure a government that lied to us about the reasons for waging this war; a government that blatantly steels from the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens in order to stuff even further the overflowing coffers of the mega businesses and special interests that underwrite it. We must endure the erosion of our civil rights, the neglect of our infrastructure, government services, and national preparedness, while the president and Congressional Republican leadership concentrate on tax cuts for the ultra-rich.
This day, let us remember the innocent victims and the heroes who worked and fought to lessen the destruction, our American martyrs. Yet, let us also remember the evil that has been done in their name, the dishonor of a government bought and paid for by Haliburton and the National Rifle Association rather than a government by the people, for the people, and of the people.
We must remember our dead; and, we must honor them by restoring the honor of this great and beautiful country.
How will our hearts go on?
ReplyDeleteCross posted at Boo Man and My Left Wing:
It was an ordinary enough day – except, perhaps, for the extraordinarily crystalline blue sky. People opened their email. They rode trains. They prepped vegetables for the day’s menu. They bragged about their successes in the football pool. They sipped their coffee and dreamed about their upcoming vacation.
Then their world collapsed. Other people, willing to kill innocents to promote their political agenda, struck hard, struck swiftly, struck dramatically. The result was devastating. As the event unfolded, heroes arose. In stark contrast to the perpetrators of the deed, these people risked or gave their lives helping others. Saints arose that day, too. All around the world, people and governments reached out to try to heal the suffering.
In the days that followed, the brashest city in the brashest country in the world was the recipient of the tender solicitude offered from every corner of the globe.
In remarkably short order, most of us went on with our lives. We grappled with our fears. We took planes, rode elevators, attended Broadway shows.
Our nation struck back hard and mightily and righteously against those who attacked us -- those who attacked US. What we did not do as a nation is reflect on the meaning of these events. It was anathema, which was understandable in the immediate aftermath, to examine how our role in the world contributed to those terrible events. How our role contributed to – not caused – the events of September 11. Unfortunately, that conversation is still being censored.
A few short months later, some of the most cynical people on earth used our grief and our fear and our rage to rationalize their intention to attack a country that had nothing to do with the gaping hole in the Pentagon, the crumbled towers or the charred field in Pennsylvania. Another discussion that has been censored is the bigotry involved in this action. How easily our country transferred its hostility from one group of Arabs and Muslims to another. How easily we confused bravado with patriotism.
Almost exactly four years later America is reeling again as Hurricane Katrina killed untold numbers and swept apart families, communities, and livelihoods. Once again there were heroes, many unsung, who struggled desperately to help people in need. Once again the world embraced America, despite our carelessly squandering its earlier good will. Once again there are conversations that are being censored – conversations about race, conversations about class, conversations about competence.
Twice in a few short years, America sustained serious blows to it blissful insouciance and unquestioning self-assurance. It is time to take pride in our strengths, but it is also time to humbly assess our weaknesses and to use this tragedy as an opportunity to advance as a society.
As we hold in our hearts those who have lost so much in these two devastating tragedies, let us reach inward to the best of ourselves and outward toward cooperation with others. Let us each fearlessly, but respectfully, have the conversations we can no longer avoid. Let us each honor those victims of Osama and Katrina by making a commitment to do what we can with our own time, talent and resources to make our country and the world better places. Day by day, in acts large and small we have the power to make a difference. Our hearts will go on – let them do so with grace, compassion, grit, humor and honor.
Rats! My first blog post here, and I mess up. I meant to say that this entry is crosspposted at DAFD. *sigh* Preview is our friend.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, happy birthday listener and all other BFA friends who have birthdays this weekend.
Franster, wow! You got in before I even finished my first comment.
ReplyDeleteThis is beautiful. It always humbles and amazes me to realize how much creative talent there is in this country. As with so much else, though, that talent's not organized. We may have the power, but not unless we can act collectively.
I just got home, having left the house before 10 a.m. Long story, which I'm sure I'll share a little later, but I wanted to say thank you for this post, catreona. I was thinking that I should write *something* in honor of September 11, but really didn't know what. It was a special treat to come home and find that you had written your first post here at the shadow blog, speaking the sad, honest truth about the meaning of this day. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAnd I went ahead and added the "crossposted at DAFD" to your post--hope you don't mind.
Thanks very much, Renee. Of course I don't mind you fixing the post up. I'm glad it was suitable, since I was very nervous about posting it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for using my new name.
Do tell us your saga when you have a chance. It's always interesting to hear what you and your family get up to. BTW I've been away so long that I'm somewhat out of touch. Did Demetrius finish the roof all right?
Catreona aka uinen, thank you for your wonderful post about the day. I hope your don't mind my adding my diary here, too.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, we are a strong community of creative people and together we must prevail.
"Catreona aka uinen said... 3:07 PM
ReplyDelete...
Did Demetrius finish the roof all right?"
Thanks for asking. I got as far as laying down the tar paper - so, it is at least protected from light rain. I have some graphics work I have to get a start on. So, I haven't worked on the roof this weekend. The whole week is forecast sunny. So, I have a bit more of a window to work in. I plan to get back up there Monday or Tuesday to start shingling. Oh, fun...
Franster, by all means. Add whatever you feel is appropriate. This form of colaborative writing here on the Shadow blog is new to me, but exciting and enjoyable. It's great to be able to pool our thoughts and resources.
ReplyDeleteDemetrius, glad to hear that you're safe, if not yet finished. Good luck with both projects.
Oh, and while yesterday my shoes were only *kind of* falling apart, today they definitely are. So there's no putting off a trip to the store right now.
ReplyDeleteClick my name for "Dogblog" which I just discovered.
I'll
ReplyDeleteOkay, this is *really* weird. Now *I've* got comments disappearing. At least two are missing--and one was a dang long one. Drat.
ReplyDeleteBeen experiencing modem/browser problems, and am glad to be back. Renee, sorry to hear about the vanishing comments. Maybe you should save them, at least the long ones, in Word or Notepad.
ReplyDeleteI'll be posting this at DAFD in a moment, but wanted to put it up here as well. The more publicity it gets the better.
From the Inbox
Date September 11, 2005 12:12.58PM
From: Justice For All Moderator (jfa@jfanow.org)
Send to justice@jfanow.org
Subject: Right to Travel with a Service Animal in the Airline Cabin Threatened by DOT Proposed Rule
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners:
Right to Travel with a Service Animal in the Airline Cabin Threatened by DOT Proposed Rule
The United States Department of Transportation has issued proposed rules permitting airlines to charge disabled passengers traveling with large guide, hearing or service dogs for an extra seat. If their canine assistants cannot fit in the floor space in front of them, DOT suggests three options unacceptable to the disabled community. These are charge for a second seat; separate the team and ship the dog in cargo or make them wait for a later flight which might or might not be less crowded. These alternatives penalize, disempower and discriminate against the disabled traveler. Friends and members of the International Association of Assistance Dog Partners (IAADP) flooded the DOT public comment site with more than 1,000 responses critical of these proposed rules. There is strong support for IAADP's common sense alternative proposals. This issue is critical to maintaining the right to freedom of travel for assistance dog partners.
We believe our fellow AAPD members will be outraged at this attack on our right to fly AND join us in opposing this proposal.
DOT is currently in the process of writing the new rules and we urge AAPD members to contact their Congressional and Senate representatives to write to DOT Secretary Norman Minetta opposing the proposed language and substituting the IAADP alternative language. At this stage in the process, political pressure seems to be the only viable approach!
The Problem
In the Notice of Proposed Rule Making published by the Department of Transportation in the Federal Register on November 4, 2004, the following language appears:
"If the service animal does not fit, it should be relocated to another space in the cabin if possible in the same service class. If no single seat will accommodate you may offer the option of purchasing a second seat, traveling on a later flight or having the service animal travel in the cargo hold."
Purchasing a second seat is not a viable option since the financial burden would exclude most disabled people with large guide, hearing and service dogs from traveling by air. Traveling on a later flight does not guarantee the issue will be resolved, since the same circumstances may exist on the later flight. Taking a later flight would interfere with the disabled traveler's ability to make appointments and meet commitments. Shipping the assistance dog in cargo is an option unacceptable to assistance dog partners. In addition to the safety of the assistance dog in the cargo hold, what about the independence, safety and quality of life issues for the disabled partner?
These recommendations would impose a set of conditions that would make air travel unpredictable and stressful for those of us working with large canine assistants. In fact, they would become barriers to air travel by a segment of the disabled population.
The Solution
IAADP has suggested the following language be substituted as advice to airline personnel:
"You may offer the passenger sitting in a seat adjacent to the disabled passenger traveling with a large service animal a seat in the same class of service in another part of the cabin. If no seats are available in that class of service, you may ask for a volunteer willing to occupy the seat next to the disabled passenger requiring sharing of leg room. If no volunteer is forthcoming and seats are available in another class of service in another part of the cabin, you may ask the adjacent passenger or the disabled passenger to occupy a seat in that other class of service."
These suggestions would place no financial burden on the airlines nor would it inconvenience other passengers. This language would maintain current practice throughout the airline industry.
Below is a letter addressed to our local congressional representative which can be used as a model:
Ed Eames, Ph.D. / Toni Eames, M.S.
Authors / Educators / Disability Advocates
3376 N. Wishon, Fresno, CA 93704-4832
Phone: (559) 224-0544 Fax: (559) 224-5851
E-mail: eeames@csufresno.edu
As a blind constituent, I urgently request your help with an air travel issue of importance to me and other disabled Americans who work with guide, hearing and service dogs. A rule recently recommended by the Department of Transportation for airline personnel would infringe on my ability and right to travel by air.
On November 4, 2004 DOT published a Notice of Proposed Rule Making in the Federal Register concerning air travel by passengers with disabilities. The stated goal was to clarify existing rules and make air travel more accessible for disabled Americans. However, a segment of that document would have the opposite effect.
My area of concern focuses on the situation where a guide, hearing or service dog cannot fit within the floor space in front of the disabled passenger and there are no open seats in the class of service purchased. In its Notice of Proposed Rule Making, DOT states:
"...If no single seat will accommodate you may offer the option of purchasing a second seat, traveling on a later flight or having the service animal travel in the cargo hold."
If the cabin is fully booked and no open seats are available, the DOT recommendations would make it virtually impossible for me and others working with large assistance dogs to continue traveling by air.
The three DOT recommended options are unacceptable and unconscionable!
The first, charging for a second seat, would disenfranchise me and many other disabled persons, since few could afford to pay two fares to travel by air. Requiring the disabled passenger to take a later flight makes little sense since the same crowded conditions might exist on other flights. Furthermore, the uncertainty this would create, the fear of being forced to miss connections, scheduled pickups or appointments makes this option unworkable. The third recommendation, shipping the dog in the cargo hold is unacceptable because none of us would expose our assistance dogs to this danger. In addition, separating the service animal from the disabled partner threatens his /her independence and is a violation of the decision made by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case involving quarantine restrictions imposed by the state of Hawaii on guide dog partners from the mainland. The court clearly indicated that separationof blind travelers from their guide dogs was a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The outrage and distress these DOT recommendations evoked in members of the disabled community and the general public who responded to the NPRM can be viewed on the DOT's website. Of the more than 1,200 comments posted, over 1,100 focus on this issue, and request the elimination of those three unacceptable options.
Current airline practices of providing an empty seat where space is available or asking for a volunteer to share leg space with the assistance dog, have created excellent working relationships between disabled passengers and the airline industry. The International Association of Assistance Dog Partners, a consumer advocacy organization opposing the DOT's proposed rules, has recommended the following language:
""If no single seat accommodates, you may offer the passenger sitting in a seat adjacent to the disabled passenger traveling with a large service animal a seat in the same class of service in another part of the cabin. If no seats are available in that class of service, you may ask for a volunteer willing to occupy the seat next to the disabled passenger requiring sharing of leg room. If no volunteer is forthcoming and seats are available in another class of service in another part of the cabin, you may ask the adjacent passenger or the disabled passenger to occupy a seat in that other class of service."
As the author of A Guide to Guide Dog Schools and Partners in Independence: A Success Story of Dogs and the Disabled and many articles in general and professional magazines, I can attest on both a personal and professional basis to the life-changing impact of assistance dogs on the lives of their disabled partners.
I urge you to contact DOT on my behalf and on the behalf of the more than 20,000 Americans with disabilities who work with canine assistants and need them in the cabin of an airplane! These DOT recommendations cannot be allowed to stand.
Sincerely,
Ed Eames, Ph.D.
International Association of Assistance Dog Partners
President: Ed Eames, Ph.D.
3376 N. Wishon, Fresno, CA 93704-4832
Phone: (559) 224-0544 Fax: (559) 224-5851 E-mail: eeames@csufresno.edu
Board of Directors:
Chris Branson, Toni Eames, Jill Exposito, Joan Froling,
Lynn Houston, Carol King, Michael Osborn, Devon Wilkins
From the Inbox
ReplyDeleteSubject: a horror story
From: "Ed Meskys" (edmeskys@localnet.com)
I was horrified to read the following. I am sending it to two different
mailing lists with some overlap, so I apologize if you get it twice.
Edmund R. Meskys
edmeskys@localnet.com
Niekas Publications
National Federation of the Blind of NH
RR 2, Box 63, 322 Whittier Hwy
Center Harbor, NH 03226-9708
==
from The San Francisco Chronicle
www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/09/BAGL1EL1KH1.DTL
Police made their storm misery worse
- Chip Johnson
Friday, September 9, 2005
Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky, two San Francisco paramedics
trapped in New Orleans for five days last week, have a different story
to tell than many of the tales that have come out in the aftermath of
Hurricane Katrina.
By their account, the cops weren't necessarily the good guys, and it was
crystal clear that most of the city government structure collapsed along
with the levees that left the city at the mercy of the rising waters.
When Hurricane Katrina hit Aug. 29, Bradshaw and his longtime live-in
girlfriend were at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans' French Quarter,
in town for a three-day paramedics conference at the convention center.
After the storm died down the next day, they were among 500 people
sheltered in hotels throughout the tourist district -- foreign tourists,
conference attendees and locals who'd checked in to ride out the storm.
The stranded crowd stared at food and water locked in a drugstore across
the street from the hotel only to be shooed away by police officers
whenever anyone approached the store. Finally, after hours of cat and
mouse, the crowd finally broke into the store.
"At that point, we had not seen any of the TV coverage or looked at a
newspaper, but we guessed there were no video images of European and
white tourists, like us, looting the Walgreens in the French Quarter,''
the couple wrote in an eight-page account of their experience.
When it became clear that the help they so desperately needed was not
coming anytime soon, the group pooled their resources in an effort to
buy their way out of the surrounding hell. They ponied up $25,000,
enough to lease 10 buses that would carry them out of the city.
But as the buses they paid for approached the city, they were
immediately commandeered by the National Guard forces that were in New
Orleans, Bradshaw and Slonsky said Thursday in an interview back home.
"If they used the buses to get the most severely ill out of the
Superdome and convention center, I have no problem with that,'' Bradshaw
said. "The thing that gets me is that if we could get on the phone and
get 10 buses, why couldn't FEMA make that call?''
With no food, no water and no transportation out of the city, about 200
of the former hotel guests wandered the streets and tried to set up a
camp next to a police command center on Canal Street, where they hoped
to get aid, protection and information, the couple said.
But officers told them they couldn't stay, they had no water for them,
and they needed to get up on Highway 90, a bridge that spans the
Mississippi River, and walk until they saw the rescue buses they
promised would be waiting for them.
So late Wednesday afternoon, the group set out for a bridge called the
Crescent City Connection, where they would find the help they so
desperately needed. But when they arrived atop the highway, the
paramedics said, they were met by more police officers, this time from
neighboring Gretna, La., who weren't letting anyone pass.
"If I weren't there, and hadn't witnessed it for myself, I don't think I
would have ever believed this," Bradshaw said.
The officers fired warning shots into the air and then leveled their
weapons at members of the crowd, Bradshaw said. He approached, hands in
the air, displaying his paramedic's badge.
"They told us that there would be no Superdomes in their city,'' the
couple wrote. "These were code words that if you are poor and black, you
are not crossing the Mississippi River -- and you weren't getting out of
New Orleans.''
And when exhausted hurricane victims set up temporary shelters on the
highway, Gretna police came back a few hours later, fired shots into the
air again, told people to "get the f -- off the bridge" and used a
helicopter to blow down all the makeshift shelters, the paramedics said.
When the officers had pushed the crowd back far enough, one of them took
the group's food and water, dropped it in the trunk of a patrol car and
drove away.
Gretna Police Chief Arthur Lawson confirmed that his officers were under
his orders to seal off the suburban city of 17,500 residents.
"We had individuals bused into Gretna and dropped off, and we had no
idea they were coming. No one ever called us -- we have no shelter in
Gretna, and our citizens were under a mandatory evacuation. This place
was already locked down.''
The few buses that did show up received much the same treatment as
Bradshaw, Slonsky and their compatriots: Gretna police officers did not
allow anyone off the buses, and like their brothers in blue across the
river, they sent them packing.
Police officers in Gretna also went into the city's lone sporting goods
store and pawn shop and removed more than 1,400 weapons from the shelves
to ensure the public safety, Lawson said.
Throughout the ordeal, Slonsky said members of the group they camped
with became a community that helped each other, shared with each other
and, in the end, relied on each other for their very survival.
The San Francisco paramedics were finally airlifted Friday to San
Antonio, where they endured another couple of days in cramped conditions
while they were examined for disease before being released.
"We got out of there with only the clothes on our back,'' Bradshaw said.
"And the money in my underwear,'' added Slonsky.
catreona--the thing is, it *had* posted. I always copy my posts onto the clipboard to make sure that they go through, but I've never seen posts disappear *after* I had seen them post.
ReplyDeleteI've been playing around with various blogging possibilities, to see if anything might be less trouble than blogger. Seashell was in a previous thread still having trouble getting signed in and posting. Not entirely sure why. Jessica had suggested Typepad, and there's a thing where you can get a 30 day free trial, but unfortunately, you need to give a credit card number to start that. I don't really consider that "risk free". There's always Blogdrive (click) or doing this as a Live Journal community. More about that in a minute.
t r u t h o u t | 09.10
ReplyDeleteBlackwater Mercenaries Deploy in New Orleans
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005A.shtml
Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans.
Pentagon's "Freedom Walk" Criticized
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005B.shtml
The Pentagon's "America Supports You Freedom Walk" is intended to honor both the U.S. military and the victims of the terrorist attacks, but critics say the administration is using the occasion to try to stiffen American resolve in Iraq and to counter a major war protest in Washington two weeks later.
The New Ground Zero
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005C.shtml
A noxious water still covers more than half of New Orleans, and through a 150-mile stretch of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama people are still struggling to come to terms with a disaster the like of which the US has not seen in more than a century.
Molly Ivins | Blame Game, Race Card
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005D.shtml
Molly Ivins argues that George W. Bush has come up with his worst idea since he decided to have the military investigate torture by the military at Abu Ghraib prison. He, George W. personally, plans to investigate to "find out what went right and what went wrong" in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Contractors 'Run Loose' in Iraq
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005E.shtml
Recent shootings of Iraqi civilians, allegedly involving the legion of U.S., British and other foreign security contractors operating in the country, are drawing increasing concern from Iraqi officials and U.S. commanders who say they undermine relations between foreign military forces and Iraqi civilians.
The Contenders to Replace Justice O'Connor
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005F.shtml
Before Tuesday's cabinet meeting, President Bush told reporters that the short list of nominees to fill his second Supreme Court vacancy was wide open. With a smile toward the journalists present, he announced that he therefore welcomed wide media speculation, especially about Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. What a kidder.
Bill Fletcher Jr. | The Titanic of Our Era
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005G.shtml
The complete failure of the Bush administration-and to a lesser extent state and local authorities on the Gulf Coast- to respond to the devastation of Hurricane Katrina has raised questions about the motives at play.
Republicans Still Plan to Cut Welfare Spending
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005H.shtml
Republicans are going ahead with long-standing plans to trim Medicaid, food stamps and other benefits, even though party moderates are balking at cutting programs that aid the poor while hundreds of thousands are homeless from Hurricane Katrina.
Stirling Newberry | Will FEBAR Bring Down the House?
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005X.shtml
With Friday's news that Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown had been relieved of managing the storm clean-up, a bit of reality settled in to Washington. According to Stirling Newberry, Brown, you probably know, is a man who couldn't manage a horse breeder's association, and yet who was waved through hearings by an eager Joe Lieberman. It was an admission that New Orleans had been Federal Emergencied Beyond All Recognition.
Roberts Refused to Defend FCC on Minority Ownership Policy
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005Y.shtml
In 1990, the Federal Communications Commission asked the first Bush administration to defend a policy aimed at encouraging more minority ownership of broadcast stations. As the number two man in the solicitor general's office, John G. Roberts Jr. played a critical role in the government's decision to reject the request, according to documents that came to light yesterday.
General: Guard Deployment in Iraq Hurt Katrina Response
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005Z.shtml
Lt. Gen. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, said that "arguably" a day or so of response time was lost due to the absence of the Mississippi National Guard's 155th Brigade Combat Team and Louisiana's 256th Infantry Brigade, each with thousands of troops in Iraq.
Re the TO headlines, note that the Blackwater mercinaries mentioned in the first story are also mentioned in the story about mercinaries in Iraq. These are not people who should be in NO. They shouldn't be in Iraq either, come to that.
ReplyDeleteRenee, that's weird and disturbing. Could someone with posting priviliges be deleting them for some reason? Also, I agree totally about not providing a credit card number unless absolutely necessary. Gee, you go to all the trouble to find us a home, and then discover that it's haunted, or trolled, or something! Sometimes a person just can't win.
Off to have supper now. I hope to be back for a while later on.
catreona--I've got a new class starting tonight, which I'll post about later, but I need to take off in a minute. I was thinking that Livejournal might have some advantages. I'll go into those with you via email if you like.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, one thing that I noticed right away is that Livejournal uses that word verification, but apparently only when you first sign up for an account. It seems to be like blogger in that you act like you are going to create a journal, but I think you can be a member without ever having a journal. Anyway, if you go to Livejournal
http://www.livejournal.com/
and then choose "create your own livejournal", you pick a username, password, etc. and then there's the part that says "prove that you're human". But in this case, it says "if you can't read the word, type "audio" for a sound test. So at least it gives a different option.
Click my name for what the Shadow Blog Livejournal Community might be like. I can set it so that people can receive invitations by email, and once they are approved, anyone can post. If you get a chance and don't mind trying it out, try setting up a free livejournal account and see if the audio test works for you. Apparently you only need to do it when you first sign up, and not every time you comment.
Be back later.
I created a live journal account the other day. Now *it* won't let me sign in. Keeps telling me my password is wrong. Yikes.
ReplyDeleteJust wanted to say that subway's song on the last thread was so beautiful and sad.
ReplyDelete